Review by Booklist Review
Briscoe, who has been writing historical fiction and romance for nearly three decades, makes her first foray into domestic suspense. Protagonist Alexis is a hearing-impaired woman of color in her late thirties, attractive and successful in her career. She decides to end her relationship with her obsessive boyfriend, Paul, after she meets Marcus, a handsome attorney. Their whirlwind romance is spontaneous and a refreshing change. When Marcus proposes after just six months, Alexis agrees to a hastily assembled wedding despite her parents' concern that she has hardly had a chance to get to know him. Turns out they were right. Marcus turns "reckless, even dangerous." The dangerous part is not just his professional dealings, but the fact that his first wife, Charlene, is missing and suspected dead. Alexis is left wondering what to do when Marcus disappears, and she nearly drowns fleeing an intruder who breaks in one night and attempts to assault her. More drama than suspense, but Briscoe's fans will still find much to enjoy.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This disjointed domestic suspense novel from bestseller Briscoe (Money Can't Buy Love) opens with Alexis Roberts describing to the police how she fought off an intruder in her Columbia, Md., home. As her attorney husband, Marcus, was away at the time, it seems that only Alexis's pluck has saved her from certain death. Flashback a year to Alexis's first meeting with Marcus at a fundraiser for children with special needs. Immediately smitten with the handsome, wealthy, and attentive stranger, Alexis soon drops her possessive boyfriend, Paul Jackson, and agrees to marry Marcus. She blithely brushes aside her friends' concerns about her hasty wedding plans and the disturbing whispers about the mysterious disappearance of her new fiancé's first wife. Once settled into married life, Alexis begins to realize that the man of her dreams may indeed be too good to be true. As Alexis rifles through Marcus's home office files and interviews his relatives, she begins to wonder whether he's capable of murder. Weak motivations, dangling story lines, and an ending that seems like a rushed afterthought make this one of Briscoe's lesser efforts. Hopefully, she'll return to form next time. Agent: Victoria Sanders, Victoria Sanders & Assoc. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Alexis Roberts can give few details about the intruder who broke into her home and tried to assault her; it was night, and without her cochlear implants she couldn't hear much. But her husband, Marcus, vanished after she learned that his first wife was missing and presumed dead, and she's terrified that he's come back. The New York Times best-selling author of romantic and historical fiction goes scary. With a 50,000-copy first printing.
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
When the man of her dreams asks her to marry him, Alexis is in for a bumpy ride. The novel opens on Alexis Roberts sitting in shock after having been attacked by an intruder in her home. Then the prologue flows into flashback, more than a year earlier. Alexis is hard of hearing, so when she meets Marcus Roberts at a work fundraiser and finds that he's not only handsome and charming, but also adept at American Sign Language, she's smitten. Of course, it's complicated; Marcus' ex-girlfriend steals him away in the middle of his flirtation with Alexis, and Alexis herself is weighing a proposal of marriage from her boyfriend. But as the days go by, she can't get Marcus out of her head, and soon enough they begin a whirlwind courtship, leading her to break up with the boyfriend. Then, just a few short months after they first made eye contact at the fundraiser, Marcus pops the question, and all seems blissful. But…it may just be his confidence and worldliness--after all, he is about a decade older than Alexis--but Marcus seems to be pretty particular about getting his way. It starts with some disagreements about the size of the wedding, but soon enough, he's constantly criticizing Alexis for the money she spends on fixing up their house and the hours she spends working her job. He also seems to spend a lot of time in secret "client" meetings and whispering on the phone. At the same time, Alexis is convinced she's seen her ex following her. All this paranoia builds to a fever pitch as Alexis faces some major life decisions--and remembers how strong she is. Despite the lack of true surprise in any of the twists, there is a painful buildup of tension as Briscoe reminds us that true monsters hide in plain sight. A crash course in what it takes to recognize and survive abuse. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
